


Body Count

by mistressterably



Series: One offs - Doctor Who related [19]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-16
Updated: 2015-09-16
Packaged: 2018-04-21 02:44:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4811966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mistressterably/pseuds/mistressterably
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Filling an anon tumblr prompt: The Doctor is blamed for something he didn't do and is on the run with UNIT out to capture him with Clara's' help. angsty fic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Body Count

Running again, the Doctor thought. Alone though this time. Clara hadn’t believed him. She had believed UNIT. It was his fault according to them that the vortex manipulator had fused open and had pulled a dying woman from the 1300’s into the labs. The plague had no effect on him but for the various scientists that were in the lab at the time were infected almost immediately. The woman died in his arms. He had cried. The Doctor had managed to seal off the vortex but the manipulator was now damaged beyond any further functionality. The lab had been quickly sealed off by the emergency protocol systems and he’d seen Kate and Clara on the other side of the thick glass. 

‘Doctor, you were meant to fix it!’ Kate had snapped at him. ‘Not pull an infected person into the future! You’ve condemned these scientists to death!’

Clara had rested a hand on the thick glass, a sad look on her face. ‘Doctor.’ Her voice had been quiet but there was an undertone of accusation there as well. That’s what had hurt him the most.

‘I’m sorry Doctor. But we can’t let any of you out. This must be contained. Strictly contained!’ Kate had turned away, her rapid fire instructions to those around her were sealing them in and locking down the entire area. 

‘I can’t be infected!’ The Doctor said. ‘It has no effect on Time Lords, the plague. I can help sort this out. Let me out!’ 

‘No Doctor. Not this time. The risk is too high.’ Kate told him with a frosty tone. ‘You shouldn’t have caused this to begin with. You were adamant it was safe. Well, it wasn’t and now we have this happening. I’ll be back later. I have to oversee a lot now. Clara? You’ll have to come with me. You’re under lockdown like the rest of us.’

Clara nodded, what else could she do. This was well beyond anything she had ever experienced with him and the risk was immediate. To her and to all of London!

‘CLARA!’ He cried and pounded on the glass as she followed Kate out of the room. ‘No!’ His temper flared and he was throwing things from the table against the walls. After exhausting himself, he stared out the glass partition to the now empty observation room. He could never have guessed that the manipulator could pull someone through time to it’s location but it had. But how? What he was doing wouldn’t have triggered such a reaction! He found the manipulator on the floor under the broken glass of a test tube that had been in the room. Sucking the cut he got from swiping at the glass, he turned it over and over in his hand. Somewhere, somehow there had to be an explanation! 

An hour later, he was still poring over the damaged manipulator. Outside the small lab he was locked inside, the other lab techs were starting to feel ill. One of them stared at him unnervingly. When the Doctor looked up, he could see the fellow sweating and looking pale. A moment later, the man coughed violently and sprayed his saliva on the other side of the glass. The Doctor’s hearts ached at the inevitability of all their deaths. 

This wasn’t the first time he’d come in contact with the plague. Never had there been any hope of finding a cure. It just simply had to run it’s course and run out of new victims. Rubbing his eyes, he didn’t blame either Kate or Clara. But he couldn’t just stay locked up in here. He wasn’t going to die. He certainly wouldn’t be a carrier. They wouldn’t believe him. He saw it in Kate’s eyes before. And Clara, he didn’t fault her. It hurt but he steeled himself to the inevitability that she would not want to travel with him again. Not after this level of death at his supposed hands. 

He ran the sonic against another circuit of the manipulator and had to run it again. There! The slightest of hints as to the cause. It was a lead. Something. But.. he frantically searched the room for anything that may prove helpful but found nothing. ‘Damn it.’ He muttered. Everything that he could use to help solve this was back in the TARDIS. Or…. the old UNIT base! There was an old sub-basement that the Brigadier had told him about once. That could have some of the items he would need to correct this. 

Another knocking on the glass and he looked up. The same fellow was there, looking weaker and now on his neck was the beginning of a black buboe. He stood and went to the glass, a hand pressed against it where his rested, sweaty from the fever running through his body. Oh lord this was a fast disease. The twenty first century human body had absolutely no natural defense to this. As he watched, the man coughed again, this time there was blood on his lips afterwards. ‘I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry!’ The Doctor had to get out of here! He had to fix this or at least stop it recurring. 

Using the sonic he began to work on the door seals to try and at least get out of the isolation lab. He had to be patient and let it work but the sight of the dying lab techs made him impatient. Another loud bang on the window and this time it was another lab tech, the blackened bubo huge at his lymph node, starting to ooze pus and blood, his eyes rimmed red from the fever and blood. The look in the man’s eyes was one of condemnation. The Doctor felt the tears on his cheeks. All he wanted to do was run away. Run and hide from the damage he’d caused to these people. 

Alarms sounded hours later. Kate was racing down the corridors, almost colliding with Clara as she ran towards the labs herself. At the far end of the corridor, they saw the Doctor re-sealing the door up to prevent any of the last techs who still had some means to move following him. He knew he was sealing them into their tomb. Standing back, he turned at the sound of the running feet. He looked at the manipulator in his hand, thrust it into his pocket. ‘Clara! I’m sorry! One day! Maybe you’ll forgive me.’ He turned, soniced an emergency exit door open and was out at a run. 

‘Doctor!’ Clara’s voice called from behind him fading as he pelted away from them all. 

He had to fix this! Somehow. 

Days passed, the stubble on his chin was close to being called a beard now but he didn’t stop. The old UNIT base was up north, near Dundee and the North Sea. The TARDIS was far behind him. Parked at Clara’s flat. Hell, who was he kidding! UNIT will have already moved it to some secure location. Later, deal with that later. The psychic paper got him onto some buses and a few trains until a train conductor clocked him from a circulated poster by UNIT. Time to go off the grid, he thought. Strolling through the rough part of whatever town he’d made it to, he found a car for sale on a driveway. knocking on the door, an older man gave him the cash price and the Doctor nodded, said he’d be right back and after a short walk down to a bank machine, he used the sonic on it and was soon striding back, handing over the cash and walking away with the keys. 

It was a small car, and it was hard on his long legs to sit comfortably as he drove even with the seat all the way back. But he drove safely and according to the rules of the road. He wasn’t planning on drawing any attention to himself. The cash he’d pulled from the bank machine was more than enough to cover his gas expenses until he arrived at the old abandoned base. There was hardly anything to see of it. A few old buildings was all now. But the cellar entrance was still there, padlocked but there. A quick pop of the sonic and it was open. Clattering down the concrete steps, he found the hidden door and, another zap with the sonic and he was in. Now.. to get to work. 

Hidden underground, the Doctor lost track of the time. At least in a specific sense. It could have been hours or days before he heard the sirens. The UNIT base was a maze of corridors and labs. He’d found the one he needed and holed up there, working on the manipulator. Carefully, he made his way through the corridors to one of the hidden exits. Behind some rocks and shrubs, he watched as a couple of patrol cars found his vehicle. It took some time before they gave up searching the area and were then getting the car towed away. The Doctor sighed, rubbed a hand through his beard. He’d have to shave. It was getting itchy. But now, no car. He’d have to walk some ways before he’d be anywhere near a house with facilities. Not right now though. He’d have to get working faster. If the police linked that car to him, then UNIT would be here soon enough. He was too close to finding out why things had gone so wrong. And then he could ensure it never happened again. 

As the police pulled away, his car in tow, he was about to get up and return when he heard more voices from behind him this time. A quick look to make sure the hidden entrance was closed he shuffled deeper into the shrubs. Two old men were out with walking sticks and equally old dogs. ‘Y’hear ‘bout them doings at the Tower? Some terrorist threat. Damn them foreigners.’

‘I know. Saying there was a bomb go off and at least fifty dead.’

‘Did the paper say if the damage could be repaired?’

‘Nay. But the pictures aren’t looking good. Saying a bomb went off in the basement. Structural damage.’

The Doctor held his breath. He thought he had cried himself out over this but apparently not as he felt the tears streaming down his cheeks. Oh, Clara. I hope you weren’t counted among the dead. With dread as to what may have happened, the Doctor was more determined than ever to solve this problem. No one else must die!

It was another two days before he heard more sirens. He’d gotten much further along and was quite close to tracing the temporal link that had caused the problem but he wasn’t finished yet so to hear the sirens now was harsh. 

He picked up the manipulator and his sonic, dropped them into his pocket and the notebook he’d been noting formulae in. He knew the best path through the corridors to the hill exit now and he was out quickly and looking back towards the main entrance. UNIT vehicles this time. That was the end of that resource. He had to focus on getting back to the TARDIS now. Once there, he’d be able to run his formulae and shoot the temporal flash signal back and then run back to that point, locate the source and then disable it once and for all. 

The Doctor watched a few moments more, a faint hope that maybe Clara would be with them. Just uniforms. All uniforms. He sighed, turned away and began to head into the surrounding woodland. He didn’t see the last car pull up with Kate and Clara in it. 

A dingy internet cafe was where the Doctor turned up next. The last of his cash was used to buy himself a large coffee and a sugar-laden pastry. He glanced at the cheap watch he’d found and fixed. Knowing UNIT it would take them all of about 10 minutes at most for them to realize what he was hacking into and then trace the IP address to this location. Then about 2 minutes at most for a local police car to be dispatched. He quickly scarfed down the pastry, almost gagging on the high sugar content but the sugar rush was quick to hit. Gulping down the bitter coffee, he roughly wiped his lips and chin with the worn sleeve of his jacket. The caffeine would kick in just as the sugar rush waned so, a cracking of his fingers and then he got to work. 

Blue box sightings, odd comings and goings at warehouses, UNIT movements, and THERE! He found the obscure reference to a helicopter sighting lifting a crate over the skyline of London to the west of the city. Fingers flying over the keys he narrowed his search towards the west and then .. ‘YES!’ He hissed the word aloud, earning a glare from some young gamer punk at another computer in the cafe. A haulage van with a tarp-covered large box was spotted by traffic cameras on the road getting off the exit to .. he rolled his eyes, Cardiff. Right near the rift. 

Ten minutes and thirty seconds, the police arrived at the cafe and the Doctor, getting up in a hurry knocked the chair back and launched himself over the computer desk to escape out a back door. The police officers were racing after him. Why! Why did they have to send the local police! He was scrambling up a large waste bin when they were out the cafe and into the alley, tasers out and barking at him. A quick blast of the sonic and they were dropping the tasers, holding their hands from the burning sensation they’d been blasted with. 

He escaped over the wall and just ran. He would have to find his way from the north down to Cardiff. Public transport was out. Could he get away with a car again? Probably not. Walking would take forever but what choice did he have to stay off the grid. Then, a lorry rumbled by. He grinned. It would be rough but he could hitch rides with them to Cardiff. He strode along the roadside until another lorry slowly rumbled to a stop at the red light. A quick look at the side view mirror and he noticed the driver staring at a mobile rather than his mirrors. A zap of the sonic loosened a strapdown hook and he was quickly disappearing under the soft side and found a spot to hide in for the moment. As it pulled off, he ran the sonic to tap into the satnav system and see which way the lorry was moving in. Hell, wrong way but going to the motorway. He’d trigger a fault to force the lorry into the first motorway station and he’d find a lorry going towards Cardiff. This would work. It had to. 

Two days later and with the smell of frozen fish clinging to his clothes, he was slithering out from under the soft side of a lorry on the outskirts of Cardiff. Taking a moment, he stretched out his arms and back, the satisfying cracks of his cramped joints loud in the almost abandoned lorry park. Even for a Time Lord, he was sore, tired, stinking and hungry but he could last until he found the TARDIS. His biggest concern about being in Cardiff was Harkness. If he twigged to the Doctor’s presence then UNIT would know faster than a bright flare in the sky. Risking it, he took out his sonic and did a quick scan. North and west. He was off on the hoof in that direction. 

Passing by a police station, he loitered a time to catch his breath and see if he could make out anything that would be about him. As if he were waiting for the bus, a car radio crackled and he listened in as an update about the yellow alert regarding himself came over the air. 

‘Last known whereabouts M4 near Bristol. Expected to be heading towards Cardiff. All units to be on the lookout.’

Damn, the clothes! He was still wearing his own coat. Where to get a change of clothes? He’d have to leave. A bus was coming by and he had just enough change left to cover the fare as he got on board. As the bus meandered its way through the city, it came to a mall and he disembarked. He’d have to chance it. At another cash machine, he used his sonic to get a decent amount of cash. Another blast and he caused a major fault with the machine putting it out of action. There’d be a technician out to fix it but that would take more time than security triggering a manhunt for a thief. Walking into the first store with men’s clothing he found a pair of plaid trousers and a new t-shirt. Grabbing a grey coloured zip up cardigan he bought them all with cash and then left the mall. In an alleyway nearby, he found a secluded corner and changed quickly. Taking what he needed from his jacket pockets he stowed his own clothes away out of sight. He hoped he could come back and retrieve them once he had his TARDIS but he wouldn’t cry too much if they were lost for good. 

Walking down the road, still in the general direction to where he believed the TARDIS was, he was passing some shops and noticed a barber shop. Popping inside he sat and after a few quick words, the barber was shaving off his long curls and the beard was trimmed neatly. It would be enough to fool those looking for him for a little while anyway. 

Once again on the road, new clothes and hair cut, he chanced the bus again. Without incident he found himself in the north of the city at an industrial park. There were too many cars about still. He could wait. Night time would be best. Walking once more, he found a restaurant and sat in the corner to eat and rest his feet a while. It took a lot for him to say still as two officers entered and had a glance around. Showing no interest in the Doctor, they ordered and left soon after with their meals. With a sigh of relief, the Doctor finished his own meal and then left. He had some time yet so he wound up in a nearby park and read over his notes. 

He had to track back the source of the open link and shut it down. He’d fused the manipulator but until he took care of the source there’d still be a risk of it being used again. Pulling the manipulator out of his pocket he gazed at it, curious but frustrated by the trouble it had caused. Pointless deaths, so very pointless. His long finger wiped away the tear that fell down his cheek. And Clara. He imagined her dead. The explosion at the tower would have been the natural response. Burn the plague out of existence. And she had been there. More tears tracked down his face and into his beard. 

Was this the end then? He thought. Had he finally brought one too many hazards to this world he loved so much. The damage he had caused simply trying to save it from worse disasters. Never really thanked but doing it anyway. With a rough shake of his head, the sun was finally going down. Steps took him back towards the industrial park but he was still lost in thought. He was caught off guard by the hand on his arm.

‘Doctor.’ 

He jumped and tried to pull his arm away but he was held tight. ‘Jack.’

‘UNIT are looking for you.’

‘Let me be, Jack. This is nothing to do with you.’ the Doctor said to his old friend. No matter how often they met since that day against the Daleks and Rose his presence caused the Doctor to be unnerved. 

‘You’re looking for the TARDIS.’ Jack ignored his protests. 

‘What else.’ The Doctor’s voice was clipped and he finally got his arm free of Jack’s grasp. ‘How long do I have before the dogs arrive.’

‘I’m not calling them.’ Jack said.

‘They’ll be watching you.’

‘Of course they are but as far as they know I’m on their side looking for you.’ Jack explained as he matched the Doctor stride for stride. ‘The TARDIS is two blocks over in a warehouse. There’s a guard at each entrance. I can get you in but that’s it. Take that thing and get rid of it. Once and for all.’

‘You’re helping me?’ The Doctor asked, unbelieving.

‘Yes. I am. Because UNIT will still try to keep that thing. After what happened in the Tower, I want it gone as much as you do. It’s too dangerous now if it can pull things randomly from the past.’

His long fingers curled around the manipulator in his pocket. ‘Thank you.’ The Doctor’s voice was a whisper and the two of them spoke no more as they walked to the warehouse. 

As they watched the guards at the entrances, Jack explained to him that he had no idea of the layout inside but the TARDIS was held inside. He’d distract the guard and then the Doctor was on his own. That was all Jack would do for him. The Doctor didn’t blame him, he had to live here after all. Keeping UNIT as close to on the good side as he could was always best. 

Before Jack made to distract the guard, the Doctor laid a hand on Jack’s arm. ‘Jack, find out what happened to Clara Oswald for me. If she survived, tell her I’m sorry for all that I did. If she didn’t,’ He paused to look away a moment. ‘If she didn’t lay flowers on her grave with love from me.’

Jack nodded and then he was off. Watching from the shadows, the Doctor waited ready to jump into motion. As soon as the guard slumped against Jack, unconscious, he was racing to the entrance. ‘Thanks, Jack. I owe you.’

‘Just go, Doctor. We’ll meet again some other day. Under better circumstances.’ Jack rested the guard against the wall and was walking away quickly. 

As the Doctor popped the lock with his sonic, he could only imagine what Jack thought of him too. It had felt like Jack was trying to get rid of him, washing his hands clean. With a sigh, the Doctor was into the warehouse and sealing the door behind him. In the dark, the blinking red lights of the security cameras stood out like beacons. Damn, he thought. All he could do was pop them with the sonic as he went. No going back at this point. Holding the sonic up in the air he scanned and then followed the signal until the door opened into a large open space. The TARDIS sat in the middle of the large room, surrounded by guards. 

Kate strode from the shadows. ‘Doctor, we need to talk.’

‘No, Kate. No talking. I know what I did and I know what I have to do. All I can do is apologize and leave. Give me that much.’

‘You don’t understand,’ Kate tried to continue but he stopped her with a wave of his hand.

‘No, I’ve said all I can. Nothing can change what happened.’ The Doctor pulled out the vortex manipulator from his pocket. ‘This is coming with me and I’ll not be back. Not in your lifetime, Kate.’

‘Doctor, please just listen.’ Kate tried again and moved towards him to stop him doing anything rash. 

‘Goodbye, Kate.’ The Doctor, close enough to the TARDIS to pull off a quick trip, triggered the sonic to the emergency dematerialization was soon standing in the console room as the TARDIS materialized around him. The frantic pounding on the door was easily ignored by him as he strode round the console at set his ship to go far far away from Earth. He turned the comms on for a moment to leave Kate with a few final words. ‘I’ve hurt too many friends Kate. Too many died at my hands. I’m sorry for them all. You know enough now to protect the planet yourself. Science leads, Kate. Never forget that and try to remember me kindly.’

Switching it off, the TARDIS dematerialized and left Kate standing there. 

‘Doctor! It wasn’t your fault!’ Kate screamed into the empty space.


End file.
